NBR: Chevy hhr is worst car ever!

kristiwashere · May 2011

My fianc? and I share his 05 chevy hhr ( the car old people always have lol) anyways, it's been nothing but problems - manufacturing wise. First, the battery is in the trunk, under a panel. They didn't tell him this when he bought it, so one day he tries to jump it off after killing the battery - unfortunately, under the hood, the fuse box thing looks just like a battery, terminals & all. If you try to jump off a fuse box, it blows your power steeringfuse ( and who knows what else.) we replaced it but I guess not correctly. So for 2+ years, we had no power steering bc a mechanic quoted us $2000 to repair it. I have tendonitis on/off, driving with no power steering is a biiiitch. Well last month my FI hit a deer (on accident) so we took it to the shop to be repaired (I'm nt blaming Chevy for this, but it sucks paying a large deductible for insurance to repair it, right as we are preparing for baby. Thank god it was only $500 deductible for $4000+ damage) We also got another quote for power steering, $81!! So we said fix it, thank god as this will be my vehicle when LO arrives. Now, the gear- changer is broken. As in, the car gets stuck in park. This morning took FI an hour! To put car in reverse/drive. WTF! It's not a problem with the transmission, simply the shifter is not "clicking" into place. Still this is almost $300 to repair. At this point this crappy car is starting to cost more than baby will! My 98 Ford that was passed from sister to stepdad to me, sis bought brand new in 98, and had ~250,000 miles when it broke down in November, never. Once. Broke. In the 12 years prior! And may still be fixable if we get it to a mechanic. Ugh. Vent over.

kimbo1216 · May 2011

Sounds like you've been really unlucky. I come from a Chevy family. Nothing but Chevy my whole life and have always had great success. I have a cobalt now and love it. The battery is also in the back. I wouldn't have thought to ask about that or be told it at the dealership. I don't think its exactly deal breaker or important info. I'm sorry you've had so much trouble. It really sounds like some isolated problems as Ipersinally, have heard nothing but good reviews about the hhr. I could be wrong. Just my unprofessional opinion. GL

kristiwashere · May 2011

kimbo1216:
Sounds like you've been really unlucky. I come from a Chevy family. Nothing but Chevy my whole life and have always had great success. I have a cobalt now and love it. The battery is also in the back. I wouldn't have thought to ask about that or be told it at the dealership. I don't think its exactly deal breaker or important info. I'm sorry you've had so much trouble. It really sounds like some isolated problems as Ipersinally, have heard nothing but good reviews about the hhr. I could be wrong. Just my unprofessional opinion. GL

You're probably right, Im sure it's just super bad luck but at this point I'd gladly trade it in if we could! I am glad that it will be a good family car, with the great trunk space for groceries. The battery in the trunk isn't a deal breaker, but would've been nice to be told since I've never heard of this except in old VWs(& maybe their new vehicles?).

Doriekirk · May 2011

I have an 08 cobalt. Bought it 1/3/08 wrecked it 3/17/08 I wasn't even 20 y/o and my family wasn't nice enough to tell me to make them total it rather than $9200 in repairs. Now whoever repaired it ruined it. I have no a/c and bringing a newborn home in the next few days IN TEXAS! I got an amazing interest rate but I don't go above & beyond making extra payments (but I do when I can). Still have around a 9500$ balance on the car & I feel like the only way out is to attempt insurance fraud. Lol seriously, I wish every day dh drives it that someone will hit him or he will wreck it so we can finally get out of this dark hole! I HATE chevy (the way they manufactured, and repaired) I have a chrysler town & country & a jeep commander also but we need our car for long travels with gas prices the way they are. Never again chevy, never! Ever again.

yougrindmygears · May 2011

Haha I have a colbalt too and I HATE that car sooooo much. I have had nothing but troubles since about 3 months after I bought it. The "chrome" on the door handles started bubbling and peeling, my power steering was recalled, my dash board rattles 24/7, my stereo had a button that stuck constantly, my sunroof button fell from the sky as I was driving one day, and as it turns out if you get ANY mud in the wheels it throws something off and you end up with a vibrating car. Not too comforting when driving 100km/hr on the highway. I wish I could get rid of this car but like a pp im stuck in a contract and still have like 16k to pay off. I too fantasize about comitting insurance fraud just to get rid of the damn thing lol. So I don't really think that you have bad luck..I think chevys are the bad luck haha. My H has a Nissan Xterra and it is already 11 years old...guess how many problems he has had with it? Zero. Thing still even looks brand new...I will never ever buy another Chevy for as long as I live.

Alfie02 · May 2011

That sucks about your car problems. My husband drives a HRR (2006), and do far no problems. We just bought it about 6 months ago. I hated teh way it looked at first (still not a fan of the outside), but the inside is pretty cool, except for the window buttons and the cup holders. What were they thinking??

mbritto4 · May 2011

I've had my Chevy Traverse a year and have had no issues. My worst car ever was a 2002 VW Jetta, that POS gave me so many problems I traded in my lease early just to get rid of it. Every once in awhile someone gets "lucky" and gets a car that probably would've been a lemon if all the $hit had hit at once. Hope you can get your car in working order before your LO comes.

kristiwashere · May 2011

Alfie02:
That sucks about your car problems. My husband drives a HRR (2006), and do far no problems. We just bought it about 6 months ago. I hated teh way it looked at first (still not a fan of the outside), but the inside is pretty cool, except for the window buttons and the cup holders. What were they thinking??

I thought it was the funniest looking car when FI bought it, but that's his personality! I have the window buttons too, but a pt cruiser is the same. Just stupid that ppl in the backseat have to ask you to roll down the windows for them! As for PPs with Chevys, I suppose the workmanship just got a little shoddy a few years ago - didn't they almost ( or did ) go bankrupt?

kimbo1216 · May 2011

Am I really the only one who likes mine and would recommend it? I have had my cobalt for 5 years and NOT. A. SINGLE. PROBLEM. I change the oil regularly. I've had to replace the tires (normal). I did have to replace the radiator, but that's because I hit a possum that ran out in front of me on a country road. The only "problem" I've had is that the back right window doesn't roll down. I haven't even checked the fuse box, so I don't know what's wrong. Clearly it hasn't been a priority.

My family has driven nothing but Chevy's. We had a silverado that had 250,000 miles on it. My parents would still be driving it if it hadn't been stolen. Our van had already flipped once on the odometer before they finally sold it. My dad even has a 70 something step van that has Lord knows how many miles on it and it's still running (disclaimer: the transmission has been replaced).

My husband drives an equinox, which we also love. I wouldn't drive anything else! Chevy is great. I'm sorry y'all have had so many problems. Considering how good Chevy has been to us, I'm pretty surprised. Like I said, I would never buy anything else.

TristaD81 · May 2011

I will never buy a Chevy EVER AGAIN. I drive a Malibu and it is such a POS. The theft system is my main problem - it is such a joke. Instead of a microchip key they decided it would be way cooler if they made it so the key had to match the ignition perfectly for it to start. If it doesn't the theft system is activated and the fuel line shuts off for 10 minutes and you have to wait for it to reset. Hey geniuses, keys and ignitions wear down over time. I've had my ignition replaced TWICE. $700 each time. The rear defrost went out a couple years ago and the a/c has never worked unless it is on med high or high. Which means it's either hot as heck or freezing. The shifter sticks all the time, I replaced it once for $1000 but it still sticks. Next time I'm definitely going back to Nissan.

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